UN cautions against populism in high-level week
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres painted a grim picture of the state of the world as leaders opened their annual meeting yesterday, spotlighting the breakdown of trust around the globe and the need to counter unilateralism and reinvigorate the international cooperation that is the foundation of the United Nations.
In his opening remarks, Guterres said that it “is suffering from a bad case of ‘Trust Deficit Disorder,’” and pointed to rising polarisation and populism within nations, ebbing cooperation among them and “fragile” trust in international institutions.
“Democratic principles are under siege,” Guterres said.
The UN chief also sounded the alarm on climate change, saying the world has reached “a pivotal moment” in global warming and risks runaway climate change if leaders don’t act in the next two years.
He said world leaders aren’t doing enough to combat what he calls “a direct existential threat” that is moving faster than people are working to combat it, and called for making sure the international Paris climate change agreement is implemented.
US President Donald Trump has announced he’s withdrawing his country from the pact.
Guterres is planning a climate summit next year.
Populist leaders attending this year’s meeting including US President Donald Trump, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda and Italy’s Premier Giuseppe Conte along with the foreign ministers of Hungary and Austria.
US Ambassador Nikki Haley told reporters last week that Trump, who champions an “America First” policy, wants to talk about “protecting US sovereignty” when he addresses the assembly shortly after Guterres.